The problem of odors, mold, and mildew associated with sports equipment is common. Thus, while clothing and apparel can be washed and dried in a normal manner, much equipment cannot be subject to these processes. For example, in the sport of hockey, skates and protective pads and other paraphernalia cannot be put in commercial washers and dryers. Similarly, shoes and pads from other sports such as soccer and basketball cannot be washed and dried in a conventional manner.
It is known in the art, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,369,893, that one may use self-contained dryers for accommodating sports equipment. The dryers have walls which cause heated air to recirculate in the drying chambers to decrease the moisture content of the air and increase the drying energy efficiency. Blowers and fans associated with electric heaters operate to circulate heated air through the drying chambers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,369,892 discloses a chest or foot locker structure with a rigid housing wherein the top of the housing has a cover movable to an open position to allow access to the drying chamber. A motor driven fan located in an air mixing chamber within the housing draws air through a filter into the drying chamber. Air porous walls within the drying chamber allow air to mix the drying chamber back to the air mixing chamber for recirculation back into the drying chamber. Air also flows out of the drying chamber through a filter having activated charcoal to remove odors from the air discharged into the environment. This dryer utilizes an internal motor and fan associated with the electric heater and specialized porous walls within a housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,134,806 discloses a portable sports equipment bag having an air distributor which is connected with a hose to a blower and ozone generator operable to move air and ozone under pressure into the air distributor. The air distributor's one or more manifolds located within the bag, the manifolds having a plurality of apertures to allow air and ozone in the manifolds to flow into the bag to dry sports equipment and objects within the bag. There are air filters mounted on the bag to remove odors and foreign matters from the air flow from the bag into the environment.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,263,591 discloses a portable sports equipment drying container comprising a body having a cover with an input fan mounted in one of the side walls and an output fan mounted in another one of the walls. The fans are used for drying the moisture wet clothes and equipment placed in the container for circulating air through the container.
However, none of the prior art deals with the necessity of providing a completely sealed enclosure while using ozone for sanitization purposes. In this respect, there are regulations in most countries mandating that ozone cannot be created and vented to the atmosphere.
While the above patents do teach various apparati and methods for attempting to clean and sanitize sports equipment, there exists a need for an apparatus and method which can be used on a commercial basis for sanitizing sports equipment.